Threading Taps & Dies

Taps and dies need to be manufactured out of a metal that is harder than the material they are going to apply threads to. High Speed Steel (HSS) is common as it will tap mild steel, cast iron and non ferrous metals, cobalt taps and dies are preferred for stainless steel. When cutting your thread, lubrication is essential as it helps to provide clean cutting edges and reduce friction in the cutting process reducing the risk of snapping the tap or die.

Tapping can be a three stage process especially with holes that do not penetrate right through the material, this is know as a blind hole. A taper tap is usually the first stage of the tapping process allowing for easy centering of the tap in the hole, a taper tap does not start to cut a full thread until higher up the shank when compared to second and plug taps. Second taps extend the range of the fully cut threads as they produce full threads quicker than a taper. A plug tap immediately starts with a full thread and is the only tap that produces a full thread at the bottom of a blind hole. In the case of through holes where the hole penetrates all the way through the material a second tap can sometimes be used to perform the tapping operation in once pass.

If you are looking to cut threads on pipes, bars and metal sections, Protrade has a range of diestocks, tap wrenches, taps and dies available.